He Deserves Better
by AnimeGirl 144
Summary: A Rebel makes the mistake of bad mouthing Wash in front of the sim. troopers. Tucker is not amused.


**Inspired from reading** PetchricorXConstellation's _Leaders_ **as well as the ending from **"The Babysitter" **from **_Halo Legends_**.**

* * *

It had happened so fast, no one had any real time to think before acting.

Tucker was given permission from to be in complete charge of the soldier's training; the other three weren't equipped for leadership (Caboose had already been there and done that; Grif was lazy; and Simmons felt he'd have a mental breakdown for running a group that was more than three) and his training from Wash made him the more qualified.

He used the training structure Wash had used, and he found that it was actually useful. Had he not been so upset with Church's sudden departure, he may have appreciated the training at the time (...or not). A week into the training session, and the soldiers were shaping into fine soldiers, one's who would be able to defend their land and separate from the feds.

It occurred in the mess hall, after an rather intense training session. The sim. troopers were sitting with Felix at one of the tables away from the Rebels. It wasn't like the separation was on purpose; it was just that the Rebel soldiers were in such awe that they kept a respectable distance from the troopers, who sat with each other as a form of protection. On that day, Simmons was attempting to act as mediator and calm Tucker down; he had had a rather nasty argument with one of the soldiers who decided to be a smartass and back talk Tucker (Tucker now understood what Wash had gone through and wondered how long his patience was). While eating, the four simulation troopers caught onto a comment that made all of them stop eating.

"You know, they had that one psycho Freelancer, ya know, the one who went insane? Heard from somebody on the field that said he went down so fast it was embarrassing. A Freelancer of all things was taken down without a fight. How pathetic. Better off dead, I say."

Felix had only a moment to think _Dumbass_ before Tucker was on his feet. Simmons didn't even bother trying to get Tucker to sit back down and not cause a scene; the cyborg was wearing a frown of distaste as he glared in the offender's way. Grif wore a similar look of distaste, and Caboose had his head lowered with a sad look in his eye. Tucker found the soldier easily; it was Private Skillyx, the same soldier who had given him lip earlier that day.

Without giving any warning, Tucker reached out and grabbed the soldier, pulling him out of his seat and onto his feet. Although the suits made everyone rather equal in size, Tucker loomed over the Rebel soldier, a fire in his eyes no one knew was even possible to have.

"Is there something you want to share to the rest of us, private?" Tucker demanded.

"No sir," the soldier responded, proud of himself for not showing his fear.

"Really? Cause it sounded like you just insulted my CO," Tucker responded, practically snarling.

"With all due respect sir, is he still your CO? I mean, he was captured and could be dead-"

"He's not dead you dumbasses," Grif interrupted from where he sat. "Him and Sarge and Donut are just behind enemy lines."

"That's right, and until they're retrieved, you're not to refer to any of them as dead," Tucker continued. "Everyone, outside. Now. We need to have a chat."

"Oh this outta be good," Felix muttered to himself as he placed his helmet on.

The Rebels assembled in front of Tucker at their usual place, while Caboose, Simmons, and Grif stood off to the side. Felix was behind the Rebels, sitting on an elevated platform to watch the scene from below.

"Alright, for some reason a few of you -not going to mention any names- seems to feel the need to disrespect Agent Washington. Well I'm here to tell you that that won't be tolerated," Tucker said. "Push-ups, now. I'll tell you when to stop."

The Rebels groaned but quickly complied, beginning their push-ups. Tucker walked amongst the rows, making sure every one of them was doing the exercise/punishment.

"None of you know Agent Washington except through stories," Tucker stated. "None of you have fought with him, or been under his command to realize that for all the stories given to him, he's much more than that. He's not some psycho who's mind was fried because an A.I. decided to commit suicide. He's not some bloodthirsty Freelancer who wants to kill for a quick buck. He's not some guy who was too weak to let himself be caught by the enemy."

"Who knew Tucker was so good at these motivational speeches?" Simmons whispered to Grif.

"Yeah. He learned it from me," Caboose said with pride in his voice.

"Washington...was probably the best person I've encountered, and that's saying a lot cause all I seem to encounter are jackasses and people who want to kill me," Tucker continued. "Sure, he was high strung when I met him, but given his life, who wouldn't be?"

"Oh God, is he going to seriously ran about some guys life?" Grif questioned.

"Shush!" Simmons hissed.

"When push came to shove, he was there for us. When Carolina threatened us, he stood up for us. When we crash landed on this God forsaken planet, he took charge and made sure we'd have the resources to survive. He worked tirelessly to get the comm tower working, and even had time to get me and Caboose prepared for the worse," Tucker continued, not hearing the talking from the peanut gallery. "And you know, he didn't have to help against the feds. He could have easily ordered us to overpower Felix and take the next ship outta here. But he decided to get involved instead because it would be the easiest way for us to get off this planet without unnecessary bloodshed on our side. And he wasn't weak and let himself be caught. He decided to sacrifice himself to let us escape with a handful of you Rebels."

Tucker paused and unconsciously tightened his palm into a fist.

"So you don't know him, but he sure as hell deserves more respect from the lot of you," Tucker finished. "It's because of him us four managed to make it here, to be helping you. And these training sessions were designed by him to make a better soldier, which is what we four are doing for all of you. So you may have never met him, you may think unhighly of Freelancers as a whole, but Wash doesn't deserve your treatment and I won't have you badmouthing him in my presence, _**am I understood?**_"

"Sir yes sir," the Rebels responded in a chorus.

"Good. Stop with the push-ups, you're all dismissed," Tucker instructed.

The Rebels stopped their exercise and left the field, muttering to themself about what had just happened. Skillyx had paused in his leaving, and gave a conceeded nod to Tucker before continuing off. Tucker watched him leave, feeling a bit proud that he had managed to get through to the private, but talking about Washington had been rather hard.

_We'll get you back buddy,_ Tucker thought as he rejoined the other troopers. _I'm tired of losing my friends._

Felix watched Tucker regroup with the other colorful-armored troopers before the four left for their quarters. Like the Rebels, he had been in awe over Tucker's speech. He knew he was a Freelancer, the same one that Tucker had bad mouthed about, but he found himself being swayed by the troopers. Something about them just made him want to like them. It made him _actually_ believe that the little Rebel group could win the civil war, all because of four soldiers from a backwater canyon.

_These guys are the real deal._


End file.
